Mayor Edwin M. Lee and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) launched MuniMobile — a new smartphone application for Muni fares systemwide, revolutionizing the Muni riding experience.
"San Francisco is using technology and innovation to create a world-class customer experience for all Muni riders," said Mayor Ed Lee. "Our City's historic investment in our transportation network that reached $1 billion this year is allowing us to increase service by 10 percent, replace our buses and light rail vehicles and hire more drivers and cleanup crews. We are making Muni more reliable, safer, cleaner and ready to the meet the demands of a growing City and a growing ridership and MuniMobile will now make it easier to board and ride Muni for our hundreds of thousands of riders every day."
With the new MuniMobile app, a rider's fare may be purchased on most smartphone devices. MuniMobile, the Bay Area's first systemwide mobile ticketing app, is available for single-ride bus, rail, and cable car tickets. Fares can be purchased in increments of 1-day, 3-day, and 7-day passports. MuniMobile is also available for SF Access Paratransit tickets.
The MuniMobile app is engineered with state of the art security features that ensure personal information is safely stored on a user's personal account. The mobile phone number associated with the MuniMobile app account acts as a unique identifier and can only be used with one account.
"The SFMTA partnered with GlobeSherpa for its proven mobile ticketing systems delivered to Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Virginia Railway Express and TriMet in Portland, Oregon," said SFMTA Board Chairman Tom Nolan. "Muni riders will now be able to create an account that securely stores their debit or credit cards or allows riders to purchase fare by accessing PayPal."
The MuniMobile app design offers a dynamic animated ticket for visual authentication. The animated ticket includes a moving customized San Francisco cityscape – that changes color while activated to avoid unauthorized duplications. Riders simply tap the screen to show the operator the authentic ticket. The dynamic animated ticket also supports quick response codes offering greater fare detail to transit fare inspectors.
"While many of our riders now pay for transit using a Clipper Card, more than half are still using cash," said Ed Reiskin, SFMTA director of Transportation. "So in a continuing effort to advance Muni forward, the SFMTA sought a hand-held easy-to-use smartphone application that makes boarding more efficient and ultimately quickens commute times. Our confidence in MuniMobile is buoyed by the positive rider feedback during Beta testing — this literally puts riding in-the-hands of Muni riders."
Each MuniMobile account allows users to retrieve their data and available funds if their hand-held device is lost, stolen or destroyed.
"We are excited to provide the SFMTA with an intuitive mobile ticketing application that allows passengers to purchase their tickets and passes with just a few taps on their phone," said Nat Parker, GlobeSherpa CEO and co-founder. "Making it easier to ride Muni while reducing the cost of fare collections is a win-win for riders and the SFMTA."
The app was designed exclusively for Muni. More than 1,600 applicants expressed an interest in the Beta testing phase of the MuniMobile implementation. From this group, the SFMTA selected approximately 300 riders to test the app and provide feedback during the Beta phase.
The Muni mobile payment app will include the following features:
- Ability to purchase, store, and use single or multiple Muni fares on one mobile device
- Allow passengers to pay single-ride fares, cable car ride, and one-day, three-day, and seven-day passport
- Industry-leading security to protect personal information and payments
- Multi-language support
- Responsive eCommerce website for online ticket purchases
Monthly Clipper passes are not available on MuniMobile at this time.
The MuniMobile payment application will initially be available for iOS and Android operating systems and there is no change in fare structure. Transfers will still be available for cash fares. MuniMobile is being evaluated as part of the region's planning process for the next generation Clipper product to be released in 2019.
MuniMobile ambassadors have been deployed to support app downloads and provide user support throughout the Muni system. For more information please visit: http://www.sfmta.com/munimobile.
The Fiscal Year 2015-16 SFMTA budget adds more than $48 million in service increases, new capital investments, purchase of buses and trains, and bicycle and pedestrian safety enhancements. Last year, San Francisco voters demonstrated their understanding of the need to invest in transportation by passing Propositions A and B, which dedicate bond funds and additional annual funding for improvements to Muni and the City's transportation network, in addition to previously-planned service increases and vehicle procurement.
The result is the SFMTA's first-ever $1 billion operating budget. This historic investment in the city's transportation network will improve transit performance and reliability. SFMTA operates the nation's eighth largest transit system, with over 700,000 average daily boardings on 75 transit lines in every neighborhood.
